Signal-tower.



N0. 890g916. PATEN'IBD JUNE 16, 1908.

J. H. MARKLEY.

SIGNAL TOWER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908.

J. H. MARKLEY.

SIGNAL TOWER.

APPLICATION FILED 001". 2, 1906.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

PATENTED JUNE 16, 19.0.8.

J. H. MARKLBY SIGNAL TOWER. APPLICATION FILED 001. 2, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

THE NORRIS PETERS co., wasnmuruu, n. c,

JOHN Hv MARKLEY, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

SIGNAL-TOWER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1908.

Application filed October 2, 1906. Serial No. 337,124.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN H. MARKLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented'certain new and useful Improvements in Signal-Towers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appcrtains to make and use the same.

This invention has reference to a signal tower, more especially adapted to be used in connection with draw bridges.

The object of the present invention is a tower for draw bridges in which is reciprocally mounted a guide-head or follower in which a lamp basket or other lamp support will seat itself when being elevated to its highest position that the colors of the said lamp will assume and retain their proper positions on the said tower.

A further object of the said invention is a guide-head for use on draw bridges in which the bail of a lamp basket or other suitable lamp support will seat itself when the said basket is being elevated; which said follower has a certain amount of vertical motion to enable an operator to elevate'the lamp to its proper position on the bridge after the same has been lighted and to provide for the elevating and lowering of said lamp without the ne cessity of climbing the bridge to dispose the lamp in its proper position thereon.

The invention consists essentially of a suitable tower supported upon the upper chords of a draw-bridge in which and extending the full length of the said tower are provided guide-rods; a guide-head or follower having vertical movement upon the guide rods aforesaid, the same adapted to be engaged by a lamp support for retaining the said lamp in a certain position when the same has been elevated to the top of the tower, the said guide being elevated with the said lamp by means of a rope or cable by an operator from the floor of the bridge and when said lamp is lowered, said follower will drop to the bottom of said towerwhen the lamp support will disengage itself therefrom and be lowered by the operator to enable him to detach and replace the lamp from its support; the rope or cable having connection with a Windlass or drum and passing over a sheave wheel at the upper end of said tower.

For a further and full description of the invention herein and the merits thereof, and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the me ans for effecting the result, reference is had to the following description and drawings hereto attached.

While the essential and characteristic features of the invention are susceptible of modification, still the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation in outline of one end of a draw showing the position of the tower thereon and the position of the guidehead or follower and lamp support when they have been elevated or raised to the upper end of the tower; Fig. 2 is an enlarged end elevation broken in two showing the detailconstruction of the tower and in dotted lines, the position of the guide-head or follower and lamp support then they have been raised to the top of the tower and the position of the guide-head or follower when the lamp support has been lowered and disengaged from said guide-head or follower; Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the top of the tower shown in Fig. 2 Fig. 4 is a partial plan view looking down upon a support extending through the bottom of the tower, said support serving as a rest for the guide-head or follower when it has been lowered to its lowermost position and the lamp support removed therefromjFig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of the guide-head or follower; Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the guide-head shown in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the guide-head shown in Fig. 5, and Fig. 8 is an elevation of one form of lamp support which may be used in connection with my guidehead, and component parts of the tower; said lamp support consisting of a basket, provided with a bail having plates adapted to Engage with the lower portion of the guide- In the drawings one end'of a draw-bridge is shown and indicated as 1, composed of the stringer 2, the chord 3, the uprights4 and braces 5. It is understood that the draw of the bridge is of suitable width and that the stringer, chord, uprights and braces are duplicated upon the opposite side of the bridge and extending up and secured to the chords of the bridge which serve as a base, is the tower which. will now be described.

The tower consists of four uprights, 6, two of which are secured at their lower ends to corresponding chords of the bridge and extending up to a-suitable height have their upper ends converging toward each other; and the upper ends of each of the said uprights are secured in three-way-elbows which are indicated as 7 and connecting the elbows in series to form a rigid connection for the ends of the uprights, are braces or reaches 8. The uprights and reaches or braces may be made of piping, angle iron or any other suitable materlal which would serve the purpose herein indicated.

The body of the tower may be braced in any suitable way, but I have preferred to show the cross braces 9 and 10 which connect the uprights 6 and also the series of cross braces 11 which extend diagonally across from one upright to the other, substantially in the manner seen in the drawings and particularly Figs. 1 and 2, and connected to and extending from one chord to the other are shown the braces or reaches 12 to which are connected the cross braces 13 which together with the parts to be described, serve as a i platform on which the guide-head or follower will rest when the same reaches its lowermost position in the tower; substantially as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

At two of the upper opposite corners of the tower are plates 14. which are secured at or near the ends of braces or reaches 8, which connect in the common three-way-elbows 7, and in the said plates 14 are suitably secured guide-rods 15 which extend down in the said tower to the lower end thereof and at their lower ends the guide-rods pass through diagonally disposed plates 16 which are secured to the braces 13 and supplemental braces 17 l which have their opposite ends secured to the braces 13; and there is also provided plates 18 which are similar to 16 and diagonally disposed with reference to each other and which are connected with the opposite ends of the supplemental braces 17 and one of the braces 13 as shown in Fig. 4. The braces 13, 17 and the plates 16 form a skeleton platform on which the guide-head or follower to be described, rests when the same is lowered to the bottom of the tower for detaching the lamp support therefrom, and the plates 18 serve as a brace for connecting the parts 13 and 17 as shown.

Extendmg across from one reach or brace to the other at the top of the said tower are I parallel supports 1 9 which are suitably spaced apart and have their opposite ends connected to the said braces or reaches 8, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and journaled on a spindle 20 having a bearing in the supports 19, is shown a sheave wheel 21, over which a rope or cable 22 may be carried, which has one end wound about a windlass or drum 23, revolubly mounted in a suitable manner on one of the windlass or drum, wind or unwind the cable as it passes through the guide-head or follower to-be described and is adapted to have secured thereto or connected therewith a suitable lamp support, by means of which said cable, a lampmay be elevated to the top of the said tower. The cable is designed to pass from the tower around a sheave indicated as 24 in Fig. 1 and shown in dotted lines, the same being suitably supported 4 upon one of the connections of the bridge or other support, if it be so desired.

The windlass or drum has been shown in outline only, but it is understood that it is mounted with a ratchet gear connection or some other suitable mechanism, whereby when the drum is inoperative, it will remain in a fixed position and said mechanism is so arranged that it may be easily released by an operator so that by means of a crank, he may operate said windlass or drum to raise and lower the lamp in the tower.

The guide-head or follower which may be best seen in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 of the drawing consists of two pairs of bars or elongated plates 25, and 26; each pair of bars or plates extending parallel with each other and spaced apart for a suitable distance as shown in plan in Figs. 6 and 7. The bars or plates 25 and 26 are connected at their opposite ends to the upper and lower ends respectively of short standards or bars 27; which not only serve to rigidly connect the bars 25 and 26 but also retain them suitably spaced apart and overlying each other as shown in the drawings; and the bars or plates 26 midway of their length are swelled at 28 to provide an enlarged opening between the same, as shown in. Fig. 7. A strap which is indicated as 29 has its opposite ends connected at 30 with the bars or plates 35 and the upper end of said strap, which is preferably shaped as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings, is provided with an opening 31 through the same.

The rope or ca'ble which has been referred to as 22 passes up between the plates 25 and 26 and through the opening 31 provided in the strap 29. The width of the guide-head or follower is such that when the same is placed in the tower the opposite ends of the plates or bars 25 and 26 extend beyond the guide-heads 15 therein; and with the arrangement of the guide-heads as shown, the guide-head or follower is diagonally disposed in the tower and the guide-rods are disposed between the bars or plates 26 at or near their 32, being of the form usually employed in supporting a lamp for work of this character; the same consisting of the side frames 33 which are bent at right angles and cross each other to form the bottom 34 of the said basket, the upper ends of the side frames 33 being preferably connected by a rectangular band 35 to which at 36 are pivotally connected the lower ends of a bail 37 having converging portions formed with an eye at their upper ends. Because of the fact that the lamp basket or support is similar in outline and in detail construction to those heretofore used, it has not been thought necessary to show more than one view of the same, and to the vertical portions of the bail 37 are suitably secured plates or lugs 39, serving a purpose to be described. The lamp, which may be of the usual construction for the purpose herein indicated, has not been shown, but to place the same in the basket or lamp support 32 the bail 37 is swung downwardly on its pivots 36 which will allow the placing of the lamp in the said basket when the bail may be placed into the position shown in Fig. 8, being the position it assumes when the lamp is being elevated or supported in the upper portion of the tower.

A lamp for use on draw-bridges, is preferably provided with four sides, two sides of which are red and the other two sides being green. hen the draw of the bridge is closed the red sides of the lamp in the tower face the channel and a pilot is thereby notified that the draw of the bridge is closed; when the draw of the bridge has been opened, the green sides of the lamp have been swung around into a position to face the channel and the pilot is thereby notified that the draw is opened. And the object of the invention is to provide a means for adapting the lamp support or basket when an operator is elevating the same into a tower from the bridge, to place the lamp support or basket into a suitable guide-head which has vertical movement in the tower so that when the bridge is closed, the red sides of the lamp will face the channel and when the bridge is opened the green sides of the lamp will face the channel. Hcretofore it has been the practice for a light tender to climb up into the tower to fix the lamp in its proper position or to climb up on the bridge or draw thereof to the base of the tower and fix the lamp in such a position that when thesame was elevated it would assume a position at the top of the tower where the green and red lights would alternately face the channel when the bridge was opened and closed.

My invention obviates all of the trouble that a light tender may have in properly positioning the lamp at the top of the tower, as he may stand 011 the floor of the bridge and by operating the Windlass or drum lower the lamp from the tower or elevate the Sam the top thereof without the necessity of climbing up into the tower or to the top of the draw and he is assured by the mechanism which I employ that the lamp will assume its proper position when elevated and always remain in such a position.

Assuming that the light tender has the lamp and the guide-head or follower is at its lowermost position in the tower, substantially as seen in Fig. 2; the light tender by placing the lamp in the basket 32 in the man ner hereinbefore stated, will secure the free end of the rope or cable to the eye 38 of the bail of said basket and by operating the Windlass or drum 23 the basket is elevated to a position where the bail thereof will find its way up into the guide-head or follower and between the plates 26 and 25 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, its upward movement being arrested by the plates or lugs 39 which engage with the lower edges of the plates 26. Any further movement of the rope or cable, through the engagement of the lugs or plates 39 with the guide-head or follower will cause the guide-head or follower to be moved up wardly with the movement of said rope or cable and the lamp support or basket through the guide-head reaches its uppermost position in the tower, which is substantially the position seen at the upper end of Fig. 2 of the drawings. It will thus be seen that the connection which the lamp support or basket has with the guide-head or follower it can have no movement except ver tical movement, and that with the connection which the guide-head or follower has with the guide-rods of the tower, it can have no movement except vertical movement, hence when the lamp has been elevated to the top of the tower, its position is nonchangeable, until it has been removed again from the guide-head or follower or unless the draw of the bridge is opened or closed, the object of which has been fully explained.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is z- 1. In combination, a tower, a lamp retainer and mechanism for elevating the same into the said tower, and a guide-head reciprocally mounted in the tower with which said retainer has a locking engagement as the same is elevated or lowered in the tower and while retained at the upper end thereof.

. 2. In combination, a tower, a guide-head mounted to have vertical movement only in said tower, a lamp retainer, and means for elevating'said lamp retainer to the top of said tower and during such movement engage itself with said guide-head and simulta- 'neously elevate the same therewith.

3. In combination, a tower, a guide-head vertically movable in said tower, means for sustaining and guiding the movement of said guide-head, a lamp retainer, and mechanism for raising and lowering the lamp retainer in said tower, the said lamp retainer adapted to engage and be retained in looking engagement with said guide-head when in the said tower.

4. In combination, the draw of a bridge, a tower supported by the chords thereof, a guide-head adapted to have vertical move ment in said tower, a lamp retainer, a cable for elevating or lowering the said lamp retainer into the said tower, said lamp retainer adapted to engage and have a locking connection with the guide-head when in the tower, and mechanism for operating the said cable, the same being suitably supported on the draw within easy reach of an operator.

5. In combination, the draw of a bridge, a tower supported by the chords thereof, a guide-head adapted to have vertical movement in said tower, means for sustaining and guiding the movement of said guide-head, a lamp retainer, means for elevating and lowering said retainer in said tower, said retainer provided with means adapted to engage the said guide-head, whereby the guidehead and retainer will have simultaneous movement in the tower and be retained in locking engagement when elevated in the tower.

6. In combination, a tower, a guide-head mounted to have vertical movement in said tower, a lamp retainer, raising means for ele vating the said lamp retainer to the top of said tower and during such movement engage itself to said guide-head and simultaneously raise the same therewith, and mechanism for actuating said raising means.

7. In combination, the draw of a bridge, a power supported by the chords thereof, a guide-head adapted to have vertical movement in said tower, means for sustaining and guiding the movement of said guide-head, a lamp retainer, means operating through said tower, and guide-head for elevating and lowering said retainer in the tower, said retainer provided with means adapted. to engage the guide-head, whereby the guide-head and retainer will have simultaneous movement in the tower, and be retained in locking engagement when elevated in the tower.

8. In combination, the draw of a bridge, a tower supported by the chords thereof, a guide-head adapted to have vertical movement in said tower, a lamp retainer, a cable for elevating or lowering the said lamp retainer into the said tower, the said cable operating through the guide-head and said retainer adapted to engage and have a locking connection with the guide-head when in the tower, and mechanism supported on the draw within easy reach of an operator for actuating the said cable.

9. In combination with a bridge, a tower consisting of a skeleton support extending up from and supported by the chords of said bridge, guide-rods supported by and extending lengthwise of the tower, a guide-head having vertical movement in said tower and guided by the rods aforesaid, a lamp retainer, mechanism for raising and lowering the lamp retainer in the tower, said retainer ada ted to connect with and elevate the guideead as the same is raised in said tower and said guidehead adapted to fall with said retainer as it is lowered in the said tower.

10. In combination, a tower, guide-rods secured to and extending the length of said tower, a skeleton plat-form at the base of said tower, a guide-head vertically movable in said tower adapted to be guided in its movement by said guide-rods, raising means operatively mounted in said tower and movable through the guide-head, mechanism for actuating the said raising means, a lamp retainer adapted to be elevated and lowered in the tower by said raising means, said retainer adapted to engage the guide-heads and elevate the same as theretainer is raised to the topof the tower, said guide-head adapted to drop with the downward movement of the retainer and rest upon the platform aforesaid, when the retainer is removed from the tower.

11. In combination with a bridge, a skeleton tower extending up from and supported by the chords thereof, a pair of guide-rods suitably spaced apart and extending the to have vertical movement on the guide-rods aforesaid, a sheave wheel journaled at the upper end of the tower, a cable extending up through the tower, over the sheave wheel and down through the guide-head aforesaid, means mounted upon the bridge for operating said cable, and a lamp retainer adapted to be connected with one end of said cable whereby it may be elevated to the top of the tower, said retainer when entering the said tower adapted. to have a locking connection with the guide-head and'simultaneously lift it in the tower, said guide-head serving to retain the lamp retainer in one position at the upper end of the tower and to drop with the lamp retainer when the retainer is lowered in said tower.

12. In combination, a guide of suitable height, a lamp retainer, instrumentalities for raising the lamp retainer to the top of said guide, a guide-head adapted to have vertical movement on the guide aforesaid, said guide head being normally at the lower end of said guide when the lamp retainer has been lowered and adapted to have connection with said retainer and to be simultaneously ele- I disengage itself from the guide-head when said guide-head reaches its lowermost position in the tower.

13. In combination, a tower, a lam retainer, instrumentalities for raising said lamp retainer, to the top of said tower, means adapted to have movement the full length of said tower for guiding said lamp retainer and retaining the same in one position through its movement in the tower and when retained at the upper end thereof, said means being capable of upward movement when engaged by said retainer and lowering itself during the downward movement of the re tainer, which said retainer is adapted to disengage itself from said guiding means when it reaches the lower end of said tower.

14. In combination, a tower composed of four uprights connected at their upper ends by means of three-way-elbows and reaches, a pair of guide-rods suitably spaced apart and extending the length of said tower, guiding means vertically movable in said tower and guided by the rods aforesaid, a lamp retainer, means for elevating and lowering said lamp retainer in said tower, said retainer adapted to engage itself with the guiding means when being raised in the tower, and said guiding means adapted to fall with said lamp retainer when the same is lowered.

15. In combination, a tower composed of four uprights connected at their upper ends by means of three-way-elbows, and reaches, a pair of guide-rods suitably spaced apart and extending the length of said tower, guiding means vertically movable in said tower and guided by the rods aforesaid; a lamp retainer, a cable for raising and lowering the said lamp retainer in said tower, a guiding sheave wheel for said cable mounted at the upper end of said tower, said retainer adapted to engage itself with the guiding means when being raised in the tower, and said guiding means adapted to fall with said lamp retainer when the same is lowered.

16. In combination, a tower, guide-rods suitably spaced apart and extending the length thereof, and a lamp guide adapted to have vertical movement in said tower and guided in its movement by the rods aforesaid.

17. In combination, a tower, guide-rods extending the length of said tower, and a lamp guide vertically movable in said tower and having portions-riding upon the opposite side of said guide-rods whereby the movement of the guide is guided by the rods aforesaid.

.18. In combination, a tower, guide-rods extending the length thereof, a guide-head vertically movable in said tower, said guidehead comprising two pairs of overlying bars suitably connected together with the opposite ends of said bars movable upon the opposite sides of said guide-rods, a lamp retainer adapted to have vertical movement in said tower and having means adapted to seat itself between the pairs of bars of said guidehead, and means for raising and lowering said lamp retainer and simultaneously impart movement to the guide-head.

19. In combination, a tower, guide-rods extending the length thereof, a guide-head vertically movable in said tower and guided by the rods aforesaid, a lamp support, means for raising and lowering said lamp support in said tower, and means connectedwith said support adapted when being elevated to seat itself in said guide-head and thereby impart movement to the same.

20. In combination, a tower, guide-rods extending the length thereof, a guide-head vertically movable in said tower and guided by the rods aforesaid, a lamp support, provided with a bail pivotally connected thereto means for raising and lowering said lamp support in said tower, the bail of said support adapted when being elevated to seat itself in said guide-head and thereby impart movement to the same.

21. In combination, a tower, guide-rods extending the length thereof, a guide-head vertically movable in said tower and guided by the rods aforesaid, a lamp support, pro.- vided with a bail pivotally connected thereto, means for raising and lowering said lamp support in said tower, the bail of said support adapted when being elevated to seat itself in said guide-head and thereby impart movement to the same, and. means connected with said bail adapted to engage said guide head to limit the movement of the bail therein.

22. In combination, the draw of a bridge, a tower extending up from and supported by the chords of said draw, a skeleton plat-form at the base of said tower, guide rods vertically disposed in said tower and extending from the plat-form to the top thereof, a guidehead vertically movable on said guide-rods and adapted when lowered to rest on said plat-form, a lamp support adapted to have vertical movement in said tower and movable through the plat-form aforesaid, means for raising and lowering the said lamp support, the said lamp support when passing through the plat-form of the tower adapted to engage itself with the guide-headand elevate the guide-head therewith to the top of said tower and be retained in connection with the same, said guide-head adapted to fall with the lowering movement of the lamp support and to rest on the plat-form when the lamp support disengages itself therefrom.

23. In combination, the draw of a bridge, a tower extending up from and supported by the chords thereof, a skeleton plat-form at the base of said tower, guide-rods vertically disposed in said tower, and extending up 1 the guide-head and elevate the same as the from the plat-form aforesaid, a guide%head vertically movable in said tower havingiportions operating u on opposite sides of the guide-rods where y the movement of the head is guided by said rods, a cable vertically movable through said guide-head, a guiding sheave wheel for said cable at the upper end of said tower, mechanism for actuating the said cable, a lamp support adapted to be connected with said cable and movable through the plat-form of said tower, said lamp support adapted to engage itself with lamp support is raised in the tower, and said guide-head adapted to fall with the lowering movement of said lamp support and to rest upon the plat-form when the lamp support disengages itself therefrom.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature, 20 in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN H. MARKLEY.

Witnesses:

CHAS. W. LA PORTE, J. M. ANDERSON. 

